New Juniper

I recently picked up a Dwarf Juniper at the local Kroger store, and immediately removed the gravel mixed with glue. *All that is left now is the soil, the tree(of course), and a thick layer of moss with about half of it saturated with the glue substance used for holding the rocks in during shipping. *I don't really want to mess much with the moss, mostly because I think there are roots of the actual tree wound into it, but it has all that glue crap in it and I want to get rid of it....any ideas? *Also, I have it set up under a flourescent light and mist it once or twice daily along with some actual watering of the soil. *Should I mist it more or less, and how long should I leave the light on it?

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pillsPMD

where are you located at? the juniper is supposed to be an outdoor tree i believe...

you may want to pull the moss off though... use a chopstick to untangle the roots from it... soak it in water if you cant get the roots out.

I'm located in southeastern Kentucky, the winter temps rarely get below 30 degrees with very little (or no) snow.

Jay

Travis, I am a novice with some experience with junipers. I live in the north, zone 5/6 to be specific. I find that my juniper is just fine with time in my unheated garage for the winter. It gets down to the teens and gives the tree a good wintering. You can very safely have yours outdoors all year. As for the glued on stuff. The glue prevents the tree from getting proper watering. Also the glue if water soluable will leach into the soil. There have been several threads recently on how to remove the glue, read them! Also read as much as you can. The important thing to remember is GO SLOWLY.. patience is king. Learn all you can, although you will always be learning!

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A Bonsai student living with his trees at N 44.37 W 77.49...
Think before you act... then think again... no good comes from rushing

While I agree withthe chopstick idea (having tried it myself) I realize I am still a novice. One of my plants (a dwarf Juniper) is about four years old. I was wondering when it should bud, and if black, seed looking pods are normal. could anyone help me? Briar